Method of interworking between spectrum sharing system and distributed antenna system

ABSTRACT

The disclosure provides a method of operating a distributed antenna system (DAS) interworking with a spectrum sharing system (SSS) including: transmitting, by a node unit of the DAS, DAS information to a management system entity (MSE); generating, by the MSE, linkage information based on the DAS information and radio service device (RSD) information received from at least one RSD of the SSS; transmitting, by the MSE, the interworking information to a system controller of the SSS; receiving, by the MSE, allocation information including a result of allocating shared radio resources to the DAS and the at least one RSD, respectively, according to the interworking information from the system controller; transmitting, by the MSE, the allocation information to the node unit; and operating, by the node unit, according to the allocation information.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No.10-2020-0073272, filed on Jun. 16, 2020, in the Korean IntellectualProperty Office, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein in itsentirety by reference.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

One or more embodiments relate to a method of interworking between aspectrum sharing system and a distributed antenna system.

2. Description of the Related Art

In order to cope with the increasing demand of mobile traffic and thelimitation of frequency spectrum (or spectrum) retrieval and relocation,the introduction of radio station management and a service system basedon spectrum sharing is being actively discussed in order to efficientlyutilize limited radio resources (e.g., a bandwidth and transmissionpower) mainly in major advanced countries.

For example, the United States has announced the introduction ofCitizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS), which is an urban spectrumsharing service in the 3.5 GHz band. In addition, the United Kingdom hasannounced the introduction of spectrum co-use for the 3.8 GHz to 4.2 GHzbands based on the Framework for Spectrum Sharing.

Such a spectrum sharing service is expected not only to be applied inthe existing specific service field but also to provide a sufficientadvantage for substituting and converging various services as well assupplementing a mobile communication service such as 5G.

A distributed antenna system (DAS) is a transmission medium such asoptical fiber, wired Ethernet, and the like, or a system composed ofspatially separated antenna nodes (e.g., remote units) connected to acommon node (e.g., a head-end unit) through a transmission network.

The DAS is installed in an area where radio signals are not received orwhere radio signals are weak, such as inside buildings, undergroundbuildings, subways, tunnels, apartment complexes in a residential area,stadiums, and the like to extend coverage of a base station by providingcommunication services to even a shadow area where signals of the basestation are difficult to reach.

The DAS is closely related to a neutral host radio access network modelproposed by the CBRS Alliance, and is likely to interwork with thespectrum sharing system or to be applied as a part of the spectrumsharing system.

However, a concrete method of interworking between the DAS and thespectrum sharing system has not been proposed yet.

SUMMARY

One or more embodiments include a method of interworking between aspectrum sharing system and a distributed antenna system.

The disclosure is not limited to the above objectives, but otherobjectives not described herein may be clearly understood by those ofordinary skilled in the art from descriptions below.

According to an aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a method ofoperating a distributed antenna system (DAS) interworking with aspectrum sharing system (SSS), the method includes: transmitting, by anode unit of the DAS, DAS information to a management system entity(MSE); generating, by the MSE, interworking information based on the DASinformation and radio service device (RSD) information received from atleast one RSD of the SSS; transmitting, by the MSE, the interworkinginformation to a system controller of the SSS; receiving, by the MSE,allocation information including a result of allocating shared radioresources to the DAS and the at least one RSD, respectively, accordingto the interworking information from the system controller;transmitting, by the MSE, the allocation information to the node unit;and operating, by the node unit, according to the allocationinformation.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the interworking information mayinclude information about at least two of an indication of aninterworking state of the at least one RSD and the DAS, an indication ofradio access technology (RAT) provided by the at least one RSD throughthe DAS, operation parameters related to the RAT, a geographic location,an available channel, and an available frequency spectrum range.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the method may further include,transmitting, by the MSE, the allocation information to the at least oneRSD after the receiving of the allocation information.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the transmitting of theinterworking information may include, transmitting, by the MSE, theinterworking information to the system controller as part of aregistration process for the system controller of the DAS and the atleast one RSD.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the transmitting of theinterworking information may include, transmitting, by the MSE, theinterworking information to the system controller through at least oneof a resource request to the system controller or periodic status updateof the DAS and the at least one RSD.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the MSE may be configured tooperate and manage the DAS by controlling the operation of the nodeunit.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the MSE may be configured tocontrol an operation of the at least one RSD to operate and manage theSSS.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the node unit may be a head-endunit of the DAS communicatively connected to the at least one RSD.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the node unit may be a remote unitof the DAS communicatively connected to the at least one RSD.

According to an aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a methodoperating a distributed antenna system (DAS) interworking with aspectrum sharing system (SSS), the method includes: transmitting, by anode unit of the DAS, DAS information to a management system entity(MSE); generating, by the MSE, virtualized RSD information based on theDAS information and radio service device (RSD) information received fromat least one RSD of the SSS; transmitting, by the MSE, the virtualizedRSD information to a system controller of the SSS; receiving, by theMSE, allocation information including a result of allocating radioresources integrally shared to the DAS and the at least one RSDaccording to the virtualized RSD information from the system controller;determining, by the MSE, an operation of the DAS based on the allocationinformation; and operating, by the node unit, according to thedetermined operation.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the virtualized RSD informationmay be information that causes the system controller of the SSS torecognize the at least one RSD and the DAS as one device or the DAS asan extension device of the at least one RSD.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the virtualized RSD informationmay include information about at least two of an indication of a radioaccess technology (RAT) integrally supported by the at least one RSD andthe DAS, operation parameters related to the RAT, a geographic location,an available channel, and an available frequency spectrum range.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the determining of the operationof the DAS may include, determining, by the MSE, an operation of the atleast one RSD based on the allocation information.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the transmitting of thevirtualized RSD information may include, transmitting, by the MSE, thevirtualized RSD information to the system controller as part of aregistration process for the system controller of the DAS and the atleast one RSD.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the transmitting of thevirtualized RSD information may include, transmitting, by the MSE, thevirtualized RSD information to the system controller through at leastone of a resource request to the system controller or periodic statusupdate of the DAS and the at least one RSD.

According to an aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a methodoperating a distributed antenna system (DAS) interworking with aspectrum sharing system (SSS), the method includes: transmitting, by anode unit of the DAS, DAS information to the at least one RSD so that atleast one radio service device (RSD) of the SSS generates interworkinginformation or virtualized RSD information; receiving, by a managementsystem entity (MSE), the interworking information or the virtualized RSDinformation from the at least one RSD; transmitting, by the MSE, theinterworking information or the virtualized RSD information to a systemcontroller of the SSS; receiving, by the MSE, allocation informationincluding a result of allocating shared radio resources according to theinterworking information or the virtualized RSD information from thesystem controller; transmitting, by the MSE, the allocation informationto the at least one RSD; and operating, by the node unit, under thecontrol of the at least one RSD.

According to an aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a methodoperating a distributed antenna system (DAS) interworking with aspectrum sharing system (SSS), the method includes: receiving, by a nodeunit of the DAS, radio service device (RSD) information from at leastone RSD of the SSS; generating, by the node unit, interworkinginformation or virtualized RSD information based on DAS information andthe RSD information; transmitting, by the node unit, the interworkinginformation or the virtualized RSD information to a management systementity (MSE); transmitting, by the MSE, the interworking information orthe virtualized RSD information to a system controller of the SSS;receiving, by the MSE, allocation information including a result ofallocating shared radio resources according to the interworkinginformation or the virtualized RSD information from the systemcontroller; transmitting, by the MSE, the allocation information to thenode unit; and operating, by the node unit, according to the allocationinformation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and/or other aspects will become apparent and more readilyappreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a spectrum sharing system interworking witha distributed antenna system according to an embodiment;

FIGS. 2A to 2F are block diagrams of elements of a spectrum sharingsystem according to an embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a spectrum sharing system according to anembodiment, and

FIGS. 4 and 5 are flowcharts for illustrating a method of operating thespectrum sharing system shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a spectrum sharing system according to anembodiment, and

FIGS. 7 and 8 are flowcharts for illustrating a method of operating thespectrum sharing system shown in FIG. 6; and

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a spectrum sharing system according to anembodiment, and

FIGS. 10 and 11 are flowcharts for illustrating a method of operatingthe spectrum sharing system shown in FIG. 9.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

An example of a spectrum sharing system of the disclosure is a CitizensBroadband Radio Service (CBRS) system specified by the United StatesFederal Communications Commission (FCC). Hereinafter, for convenience ofdescription, technologies proposed in the disclosure will be describedon the premise of the CBRS system. However, such a description does notlimit that the technologies proposed in the disclosure are applied tovarious spectrum sharing systems (e.g., Licensed Spectrum Access (LSA)system specified by Europe) other than the CBRS system.

The spectrum sharing system of the disclosure is a new type of system inwhich two or more wireless communication systems provide authorizedshared access in conjunction with an in-building wireless communicationsystem (e.g., a distributed antenna system (DAS)), which is furtherdeveloped from a general CBRS system that provides or participates inauthorized shared access between two or more wireless communicationnetworks or two or more wireless communication systems (e.g., citizensbroadband service devices (CBSDs) or CBSD domain proxies).

As the spectrum sharing system of the disclosure operates with thein-building wireless communication system, such as a distributed antennasystem, as an element, it is required to protect radio resources fromeach other based on constraints due to radio access technologies beingused by the in-building wireless communication system, as well as radioaccess technologies (RATs) being used by general competing users orwireless communication systems, and a plurality of operating modes forthe RATs.

In a case of the DAS implemented with neutral host architecture, variousradio services are integrated and provided within a service coverage.This is because various problems such as interference may be caused whenthe radio resources are shared without considering interworking (orinteroperating) of the DAS in the spectrum sharing system.

In order to meet these requirements and to allow for optimization ofradio resource allocations, various aspects of the disclosure suggesttechnologies that allow system controllers of the spectrum sharingsystem to directly or indirectly recognize whether CBSDs (or CBSD domainproxies) interworks (or interoperates) with a DAS, and to optimize theallocation of radio resources to the CBSDs and the DAS based on a resultof the recognition of interworking.

In particular, various aspects of the disclosure suggest technologiesthat allow the system controllers of the spectrum sharing system toreceive certain information indicating an interworking status of theCBSDs (or CBSD domain proxies) and the DAS from a management systementity, to use the received information to recognize whether the CBSDs(or CBSD domain proxies) and the DAS are interworking with each other,and to optimize the allocation of radio resources to the CBSDs and theDAS based on a result of the recognition of interworking.

In various embodiments, the technologies described in the disclosure andsystems and devices for implementation thereof may utilize RATs such asWiFi or WiMax as well as RATs such as code division multiple access(CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency divisionmultiple access (FDMA), orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), single-carrier FDMA(SC-FDMA), LTE, a global system for mobile communications (GSM), 5G NR,and the like to support shared access to the radio spectrum betweennetworks (or systems).

Various other embodiments and features according to the disclosure willbe further described later below. It should be apparent that theteachings herein may be implemented in a wide variety of forms and anyparticular structure, function, or both, disclosed herein are merelyexemplary, and not limiting. Based on the teachings herein, one ofordinary skill in the art will appreciate that aspects disclosed hereinmay be implemented independently of any other aspects, and two or moreof these aspects may be combined in various ways. For example, a deviceor a method may be implemented by using any number of aspects set forthherein. Furthermore, the device or the method may be implemented withstructures and functions of one or more of the aspects described herein,or may be implemented by using structures and functions of otheraspects. For example, the method may be implemented as part ofinstructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable recordingmedium for execution on a system, a device, an apparatus and/or aprocessor, or a computer. Furthermore, one aspect may include at leastone component of the claim.

Hereinafter, various embodiments of the disclosure will be described indetail in order.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a spectrum sharing system (SSS) 10according to an embodiment.

The SSS 10 may include a system controller (SC) 110, radio servicedevices (RSDs) 120 a to 120 e, first and second distributed antennasystems (DAS) 11 and 12, and a management system entity (MSE) 160.

The SSS 10 provides some degree of protection to existing users (e.g.,fixed satellite systems, WISPs, and government/military systems) withpotentially higher priorities, other users, and radio service providerswhile allowing shared radio resources by control of the SC 110, forexample, operating frequencies, power limits, a geographical area, orthe like, to be dynamically allocated to multiple users and radioservice providers related to the RSDs 120 a to 120 e and the first andsecond DAS 11 and 12.

The SC 110 may control overall spectrum sharing in the SSS 10, throughthe MSE 160, by accepting requests for use of the shared radio resourcesfrom the RSDs 120 a to 120 e and/or the first and second DAS 11 and 12,by solving conflicts or over-constraints in these requests, and byapproving the use of the shared radio resources for the radio accessservices.

For example, the SC 110 may receive interworking information of the RSDs120 a to 120 e transmitted from the MSE 160 and a corresponding one ofthe first and second DAS 11 and 12 during a registration and resourcerequest or a periodic status update process from among operationprocedures for allocation and reallocation of the shared radioresources. The SC 110 may determine whether the RSDs 120 a to 120 einterwork with the corresponding one of the first and second DAS 11 and12 based on the received interworking information, and allocate theshared radio resources in consideration of a result of thedetermination. This will be described in more detail later withreference to FIGS. 3 to 11.

The term “interworking” means that the RSDs 120 a to 120 e are used assignal sources of at least one of the first and second DAS 11 and 12.

In addition, the term “determining” encompasses a wide variety ofactions. For example, the term “determining” may include computing,processing, deriving, examining, looking up (e.g., looking up in atable, database, or other data structure), identifying, and the like.The term “determining” may also include receiving (e.g., receivinginformation), accessing (accessing data in a memory), and the like. Theterm “determining” may also include resolving, selecting, choosing,establishing, and the like.

The RSDs 120 a to 120 e may be devices that provide radio services usingany radio access technology, such as a base station, an access point, orany type of radio frequency (RF) access system.

The RSDs 120 a to 120 e may be communicatively connected to the MSE 160and/or a node unit of any one of the first and second DAS 11 and 12. Inaddition, the RSDs 120 a to 120 e may be communicatively connected tothe SC 110 through the MSE 160 and/or any one node unit of the first andsecond DAS 11 and 12. As the RSDs 120 a to 120 e are not directlyconnected to the SC 110 but indirectly connected to the SC 110 throughthe MSE 160 or the like, when the number of RSDs constituting the SSS 10increases, it is possible to effectively reduce the burden of managing,controlling, and operating the RSDs of the SC 110.

The RSDs 120 a to 120 e may provide a radio service to end user devicesin a cell using a spectrum allocated by indirect control of the SC 110(e.g., control through the MSE 160, the first and second DAS 11 and 12,etc.).

Alternatively, the RSDs 120 a to 120 e may provide a radio service tothe end user devices through a corresponding one of the first and secondDAS using the spectrum allocated by the indirect control of the SC 110.

Although not shown in FIG. 1, some of the RSDs 120 a to 120 e may becommunicatively connected to the SC 110 and may provide a radio serviceto the end user devices in the cell directly or through a correspondingone of the first and second DAS 11 and 12 by using a spectrum allocatedby direct control of the SC 110.

In addition, although not shown in FIG. 1, some of the RSDs 120 a to 120e may be connected to other RSDs, and thus may each function as a domainproxy for lower RSDs.

Each of the first and second DAS 11 and 12 may combine/distribute aradio service provided from at least one corresponding one of the RSDs120 a to 120 e by the indirect control of SC 110 (control through theMSE 160 or the at least one corresponding RSD of the RSDs 120 a to 120e), and may provide the radio service to end user devices withincoverage.

According to an embodiment, the first DAS 11 may include a head-end unit(HEU) 130 connected to the RSDs 120 a, 120 b, and 120 c and/or the MSE160, remote units (RU) 140 a and 140 c connected to the HEU 130 in apoint-to-multipoint structure, and RUs 140 b and 140 d respectivelyconnected to corresponding ones of the RUs 140 a and 140 c in a daisychain structure.

As shown in FIG. 1, the first DAS 11 may further optionally include anexpansion unit (EU) 150, and RUs 140 e to 140 h may be connected to theEU 150 in a mixed form of the point-to-multipoint structure and thedaisy-chain structure.

The first DAS 11 may provide radio services from the RSDs 120 a, 120 b,and 120 c to the end user devices by using a radio resource allocatedaccording to the indirect control of the SC 110 (e.g., control throughthe MSE 160 or the RSDs 120 a, 120 b, and 120 c).

According to an embodiment, the second DAS 12 may include an RU 140 iconnected to the RSDs 120 d and 120 e and/or the MSE 160, and RUs 140 jand 140 k connected to the RU 140 i in a daisy chain structure.

The RUs 140 i, 140 j, and 140 k may process a plurality of radioservices in an integrated manner, unlike a remote radio head, which isan RF processing device of a distributed base station. FIG. 1 shows onlyan embodiment in which the RUs 140 i, 140 j, and 140 k are directlyconnected to the RSDs 120 d and 120 e, but the RUs 140 i, 140 j, and 140k may also be connected to the RSDs 120 d and 120 e through a certainnetwork.

The second DAS 12 may provide radio services from the RSDs 120 d and 120e to the end user devices by using the radio resource allocatedaccording to the indirect control of the SC 110 (e.g., control throughthe MSE 160 or the RSDs 120 d, 120 e).

The MSE 160 may be communicatively connected to the SC 110 and the RSDs120 a to 120 e and/or the node unit of each of the first and second DAS11 and 12.

According to an embodiment, the MSE 160 may generate interworkinginformation indicating an interworking state based on certaininformation transmitted from the RSDs and the node units of the firstand second DAS 11 and 12, and the like, and may transmit theinterworking information and the like to the SC 110 so that shared radioresources are allocated according to the interworking information.

According to an embodiment, the MSE 160 may receive interworkinginformation and the like from the RSDs 120 a to 120 e and the node unitsof the first and second DAS 11 and 12, and may transmit the receivedinterworking information and the like to the SC 110 so that shared radioresources are allocated according to the received interworkinginformation and the like.

The MSE 160 may receive allocation information including a result of theallocation of the shared radio resources from the SC 110, and maytransmit the received allocation information to the RSDs 120 a to 120 eand/or to the node units of the first and second DAS 11 and 12.

The MSE 160 may be a system for integrated management and operation ofthe RSDs 120 a to 120 e and the first and second DAS 11 and 12 asdescribed above, but is not limited thereto. In an embodiment, the MSE160 may be a network management system or a DAS management systemprovided by a manufacturer of the first and second DAS 11 and 12. Inanother embodiment, the MSE 160 may be a network management systemprovided by a manufacturer of the SC 110 and the RSDs 120 a to 120 e.

On the other hand, according to the disclosure, elements of the SSS 10,that is, the node units (HEU, RU, and EU) constituting the SC, RSD, andDAS, the number of MSEs, and a topology for connecting them are notlimited to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, and various modifications andvariations are possible.

FIGS. 2A to 2F are block diagrams of elements of a spectrum sharingsystem according to an embodiment. In the description of FIGS. 2A to 2F,the same or corresponding reference numerals as those in FIG. 1 denotethe same or corresponding elements, and therefore, repeated descriptionsthereof will not be given herein.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2A, the SC 110 may include a system controllerprocessing system 111 (hereinafter referred to as an SC processingsystem) and a system controller interface 117 (hereinafter referred toas an SC interface).

The SC processing system 111 may control all operations of the SSS 10.For example, the SC processing system 111 may control processingoperations for a registration request of at least one RSD and/or atleast one DAS communicatively connected to the SC processing system 111through the MSE 160, processing operations for a radioresource/authorization request, status update processing operationsthereof, and the like.

In particular, the SC processing system 111, as part of theabove-described operations or as a separate operation, may check whetherthe RSD interworks with the DAS to reflect an interworking operationstate when shared radio resources are allocated.

The SC processing system 111 may include at least one database 113 and aprocessor 115.

The at least one database 113 may store rules necessary for managementand operation of the SSS 10, various information about users, forexample, information about priorities (e.g., a top-level incumbent user,a priority access authorized user, a general access authorized user),geographical location and/or time information, coverage, an maximumallowable power output level, a modulation type, interference thresholdinformation, and so on.

The processor 115 may determine whether the RSD interworks with the DASbased on identification information of the RSD and/or the DAS (in moredetail, node units of the DAS such as HEU, RU, and EU), interworkinginformation, virtualized RSD information, and the like transmitted fromthe MSE 160. Specific embodiments thereof will be described in moredetail later with reference to FIGS. 3 to 10.

The processor 115 may be connected to the database 113 and recognize aspectrum usage state, a usage amount, and the like of users havingpriority at specific times and/or geographical locations related to theRSD and the DAS that are determined whether to interwork with eachother.

The processor 115 may allocate radio resources available for the RSD andthe DAS based on a result of the recognition.

The processor 115 may transmit allocation information indicating aresult of the allocation of the radio resources to an RSD 120 and/or theDAS to control the use of the shared radio resources by the RSD 120 andthe DAS.

The SC processing system 111 may be communicatively connected to the MSE160 through a first communication link CL1 a, and may transmit andreceive information for spectrum sharing access control to and from theMSE 160 through the SC interface 117.

The SC processing system 111 may transmit and receive the information toand from the MSE 160 through the SC interface 117 by using a securityprotocol such as a HyperText Transfer Protocol over Secure Socket Layer(HTTPS) protocol.

The first communication link CL1 a may be, for example, but is notlimited to, the Internet, and may be any wired and/or wirelesscommunication link such as WiMax, network optical fiber, anEthernet-based cable, and the like.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2B, the RSD 120 may include a radio servicedevice interface 121 (hereinafter referred to as an RSD interface), aradio service device controller 123 (hereinafter referred to as an RSDcontroller), and a radio service device processing system 125(hereinafter referred to as an RSD processing system).

The RSD interface 121 is for the RSD 120 to transmit and receive piecesof information necessary for spectrum sharing access to and from the MSE160, and HEU 130, and an RU 140.

The RSD 120 may transmit and receive the information to and from the MSE160 connected to the RSD 120 through a first communication link CL1 b,and the HEU 130 and the RU 140 connected to the RSD 120 through secondcommunication links CL2 a and CL2 b, respectively, by using the RSDinterface 121.

The first communication link CL1 b and the second communication linksCL2 a and CL2 b may be, for example, but are not limited to, theInternet, and may be any wired and/or wireless communication link suchas WiMax, network optical fiber, an Ethernet-based cable, and the like.

The RSD controller 123 may generate its own information related to aradio service or the like provided by the RSD 120, interworkinginformation indicating whether to interwork with the DAS, virtualizedRSD information, and the like, and may transmit these information to theMSE 160, the HEU 130, or the RU 140 through the RSD interface 121.

The RSD controller 123 may control the RSD processing system 125according to allocation information or the like transmitted from the MSE160 or from the HEU 130 and the RU 140 through the RSD interface 121.

The RSD processing system 125 may activate a radio resource (e.g., afrequency spectrum or channel) allocated by the control of the RSDcontroller 123 and use the activated radio resource to generate servicesignals of radio access technology that the RSD 120 may support.

The RSD processing system 125 may transmit the generated service signalsto the HEU 130 and the RU 140 through third communication links CL3 aand CL3 b.

The third communication links CL3 a and CL3 b may be media fortransmitting analog or digital type service signals, for example, an RFcable, an optical fiber, an Ethernet-based cable, and the like. Althoughnot shown in FIG. 2B, the RSD processing system 125 may includeconverters for converting the generated service signals to correspond tothe third communication links CL3 a and CL3 b.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2C, the HEU 130 may include a head-end unitinterface 131 (hereinafter referred to as an HEU interface), a head-endunit controller 133 (hereinafter referred to as an HEU controller), anda head-end unit processing system 135 (hereinafter referred to as an HEUprocessing system).

The HEU interface 131 is for the HEU 130 to transmit and receive piecesof information necessary for spectrum sharing access to and from the RSD120, the RU 140, the EU 150, and the MSE 160.

The HEU 130 may transmit the above-described pieces of information tothe RSD 120 by using a certain security protocol, for example, a HTTPSprotocol.

The HEU 130 may transmit and receive pieces of information such asallocation information to and from the MSE 160, the RU 140, and the EU150 by using the above-described security protocol or another securityprotocol defined by a manufacturer of the DAS.

The HEU 130 may transmit and receive the pieces of information to andfrom the MSE 160 connected to the HEU 130 through a first communicationlink CL1 c, the RSD 120 connected to the HEU 130 through the secondcommunication link CL2 a, and the EU 150 and the RU 140 connected to theHEU 130 through fourth communication links CL4 a and CL4 b,respectively, by using the HEU interface 131.

The fourth communication links CL4 a and CL4 b may be, for example, butare not limited to, the Internet, and may include any wired and/orwireless communication link such as WiMax, network optical fiber, anEthernet-based cable, and the like.

The HEU controller 133 may generate interworking information,virtualization information, and the like indicating whether to interworkwith the RSD 120, and may transmit these information to the MSE 160 orthe RSD 120 through the HEU interface 131.

The HEU controller 133 may control the HEU processing system 135according to allocation information transmitted from the MSE 160 or fromthe RSD 120 through the HEU interface 131. The transmitted allocationinformation may be transmitted to the RU 140 and the EU 150 through theHEU interface 131.

The HEU processing system 135 may receive service signals of the radioaccess technology from the RSD 120 through the third communication linkCL3 a. FIG. 2C shows an embodiment in which one RSD 120 is connected tothe HEU 130. However, when a plurality of RSDs 120 are connected to theHEU 130, the third communication link CL3 a may be plural (see FIG. 3,etc.).

The HEU processing system 135 may perform processes such as noisecancellation, filtering, combining, and the like, in an analog wayand/or digitally using radio resources allocated by the control of theHEU controller 133 to the received service signals, and may transmit thecombined service signals to the RU 140 and the EU 150 through the fifthcommunication links CL5 a and CL5 b.

The fifth communication links CL5 a and CL5 b may be media fortransmitting analog or digital type service signals, for example, an RFcable, an optical fiber, an Ethernet-based cable, and the like. Althoughnot shown in FIG. 2C, the HEU processing system 135 may includeconverters for converting the combined service signals to correspond tothe fifth communication links CL5 a and CL5 b.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2D, the EU 150 may include an expansion unitinterface 151 (hereinafter referred to as an EU interface), an expansionunit controller 153 (hereinafter referred to as an EU controller), andan expansion unit processing system 155 (hereinafter referred to as anEU processing system).

The EU interface 151 is for transmitting and receiving pieces ofinformation necessary for spectrum sharing access to and from the HEU130 and the RU 140.

The EU 150 may transmit and receive the necessary pieces of informationto and from the HEU 130 and the RU 140 by using a security protocol suchas an HTTPS protocol or other security protocols defined by amanufacturer of the DAS.

The EU 150 may transmit and receive the necessary pieces of informationto and from the HEU 130 connected to the EU 150 through the fourthcommunication link CL4 a and the RU 140 connected to the EU 150 througha sixth communication link CL6 by using the EU interface 151.

The sixth communication link CL6 may be, for example, but is not limitedto, the Internet, and may include any wired and/or wirelesscommunication link such as WiMax, network optical fiber, anEthernet-based cable, and the like.

The EU controller 153 may control the EU processing system 155 accordingto allocation information of radio resources transmitted from the HEU130 through the EU interface 151.

The EU processing system 155 may receive combined service signals fromthe HEU 130 through the fifth communication link CL5 a and performprocesses such as amplification and the like on the combined servicesignals in an analog way and/or digitally by using the radio resourcesallocated by the control of the EU controller 153. Thereafter, the EUprocessing system 155 may transmit the processed service signals to theRU 140 through a seventh communication link CL7.

The seventh communication link CL7 may be a medium for transmittinganalog or digital type service signals, for example, an RF cable, anoptical fiber, an Ethernet-based cable, and the like. Although not shownin FIG. 2D, the EU processing system 155 may include a converter forconverting the signal received through the fifth communication link CL5a into a signal suitable for processing therein and converters forconverting the processed signal to correspond to the seventhcommunication link CL7.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2E, the RU 140 may include a remote unitinterface 141 (hereinafter referred to as an RU interface), a remoteunit controller 143 (hereinafter referred to as an RU controller), and aremote unit processing system 145 (hereinafter referred to as an RUprocessing system).

The RU interface 141 is for transmitting and receiving pieces ofinformation necessary for spectrum sharing access to and from the MSE160, the RSD 120, the HEU 130, the EU 150, and other RUs.

The RU 140, according to an embodiment, may transmit and receive thepieces of information to and from the MSE 160 and the RSD 120 by using asecurity protocol such as an HTTPS protocol and may also transmit andreceive the pieces of information to and from the HEU 130 and the EU 150by using other security protocols besides the HTTPS protocol.

The RU 140 may transmit and receive the pieces of information to andfrom the MSE 160 connected to the RU 140 through a first communicationlink CL1 d, and the RSD 120, the HEU 130, the EU 150, and other RUs thatare connected to the RU 140, respectively, through the firstcommunication link CL1 c, the second communication link CL2 b, thefourth communication link CL4 b, the sixth communication link CL6, andan eighth communication link CL8.

The eighth communication link CL8 maybe, for example, but is not limitedto, the Internet, and may include any wired and/or wirelesscommunication link such as WiMax, network optical fiber, anEthernet-based cable, and the like.

The RU controller 143 may control the RU processing system 145 accordingto allocation information of radio resources transmitted from the MSE160, the RSD 120, the HEU 130, or the EU 150 through the RU interface141.

The RU processing system 145 may receive a service signal from the RSD120 through the third communication link CL3 b, combined service signalsfrom the HEU 130 through the fifth communication link CL5 b, oramplified service signals from the EU 150 through the seventhcommunication link CL7.

The RU processing system 145 may perform processes such as filtering,amplification, and the like for the received service signals in ananalog way and/or digitally using radio resources allocated by thecontrol of the RU controller 143, and may transmit the processed servicesignals to an end-user device or another RU through a ninthcommunication link CL9.

The ninth communication link CL9 may be a medium for transmitting analogor digital type service signals, for example, an RF cable, an opticalfiber, an Ethernet-based cable, and the like. Although not shown in FIG.2E, the RU processing system 145 may include a converter for convertingthe service signals received through the third communication link CL3 b,the fifth communication link CL5 b, and the seventh communication linkCL7 into signals suitable for processing therein and a converter forconverting amplified signals to correspond to the ninth communicationlink CL9.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2F, the MSE 160 may include a management systementity interface 161 (hereinafter referred to as an MSE interface), abus 163, and a management system entity processing system 165(hereinafter referred to as an MSE processing system).

The MSE interface 161 is for the MSE 160 to transmit and receive piecesof information necessary for spectrum sharing access to and from the SC110, the RSD 120, the HEU 130, and the RU 140.

The MSE 160 may transmit and receive the pieces of information to andfrom the SC 110, the RSD 120, the HEU 130, and the RU 140 connected tothe MSE 160 through the first communication links CL1 a, CL1 b, CL1 c,and CL1 d, respectively, by using the MSE interface 161.

As described above, the first communication links CL1 a, CL1 b, CL1 c,and CL1 d may be, for example, but are not limited to, the Internet, andmay be any wired and/or wireless communication link such as WiMax,network optical fiber, an Ethernet-based cable, and the like.

The bus 163 may communicatively connect the MSE interface 161 to the MSEprocessing system 165.

The MSE processing system 165 may include a processor 167 and a memory169.

The processor 167, based on identification information of at least oneRSD and a DAS received (or pre-saved) through the MSE interface 161 orinformation about radio access technology, may be any device suitablefor executing program instructions for generating interworkinginformation indicating an interworking status of the RSD and the DAS,virtualized RSD information representing the RSD and the DAS as avirtual unified RSD, or the like.

Alternatively, the processor 167 may be any device suitable forexecuting a program instruction for processing interworking informationreceived from the RSD or the DAS through the MSE interface 161,virtualized RSD information, or the like.

The processor 167 may be any device suitable for executing programinstructions for monitoring, managing, controlling, and operating alloperating states of RSDs 120, or program instructions for monitoring,managing, controlling, and operating all operating states of the DAS.

The memory 169 may be any non-transitory medium for storing the programinstructions described above that define an operation of MSE 160. Forexample, the memory 169 may be ROM, RAM, an optical storage, a magneticstorage, a flash memory, or any other medium.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a spectrum sharing system according to anembodiment, and FIGS. 4 and 5 are flowcharts for illustrating a methodof operating the spectrum sharing system shown in FIG. 3.

In more detail, the spectrum sharing system shown in FIG. 3 illustratesan embodiment in which the HEU 130 of a distributed antenna systeminterworks with the plurality of RSDs 120 a and 120 b, and the SC 110,the RSDs 120 a and 120 b, and the HEU 130 are communicatively connectedto each other through the MSE 160 to transmit and receive informationnecessary for spectrum sharing access.

In FIG. 3, between the plurality of RSDs 120 a and 120 b and the HEU 130and between the HEU 130 constituting a DAS and an RU and an EU, radioservice signals provided to/from an end-user device are transmitted asanalog or digital type signals. Processes related to configurations forthis will not be given herein for convenience of explanation. This alsoapplies to FIGS. 6 and 9 below.

In the description of FIGS. 3 to 5, the same or corresponding referencenumerals as those in FIGS. 1 to 2F denote the same or correspondingelements, and therefore, repeated descriptions thereof will not be givenherein. In the spectrum sharing system according to the presentembodiment, allocation operations of shared radio resources for the RSDs120 a and 120 b and the HEU 130 will be mainly described.

First, referring to FIGS. 1 to 2F, 3, and 4, in operation S401, the HEU130 transmits operation information of the DAS (hereinafter referred toas DAS information) to the MSE 160.

The DAS information may include identifiers such as a DAS and/or an HEUconstituting the DAS, an indication of radio access technology that theDAS may provide, operating parameters related to the radio accesstechnology (e.g., synchronization, a slot structure, a silence interval,etc.), a geographical location (e.g., a concept related to aninstallation location of units or an installation location of an antennaconnected to the units, and including a geographical area), and thelike.

The operating parameters may include, for example, frequency spectruminformation, level/power information, operating state information, andthe like of a service signal conforming to the radio access technology.

According to an embodiment, the MSE 160 may be provided by a DASmanufacturer, and may be a network management system for thecorresponding manufacturer to monitor and control an operating state ofthe DAS in real time. In this case, the MSE 160 may store DASinformation in advance, and accordingly, operation S401 may be omitted,and the MSE 160 may perform the operations described later below basedon the pre-stored DAS information.

According to an embodiment, the HEU 130 may transmit the DAS informationto the MSE 160 offline.

In operation S402, the RSDs 120 a and 120 b transmit RSD information RSD#1 and RSD #2 to the MSE 160, respectively.

The RSD information RSD #1 and RSD #2 may include an indication of radioaccess technologies respectively provided by the RSDs 120 a and 120 b,operating parameters related to the radio access technologies, ageographic location, a device identifier, an available channel, anavailable frequency spectrum range, and the like.

According to an embodiment, the MSE 160 may be provided by amanufacturer of the RSDs 120 a and 120 b or a service provider thatprovides a spectrum sharing service through the RSDs 120 a and 120 b andthe SC 110, and may be a network management system for the correspondingmanufacturer or the service provider to monitor and control an operatingstate of the RSDs 120 a and 120 b in real time. In this case, the MSE160 may store the RSD information in advance, and accordingly, operationS402 may be omitted, and the MSE 160 may perform the operationsdescribed later below based on the pre-stored RSD information.

According to an embodiment, the RSDs 120 a and 120 b may transmit theRSD information to the MSE 160 offline.

In operation S403, the MSE 160 generates interworking information of theDAS and the RSDs 120 a and 120 b based on obtained DAS information andthe RSD information, and transmits the generated interworkinginformation to the SC 110 in operation S404.

When the RSDs 120 a, 120 b operate as a signal source of the DAS, theDAS is subject to radio access technology of the RSDs 120 a and 120 band operating parameters such as frequency bands related to the radioaccess technology.

In addition, due to the nature of an in-building wireless communicationsystem, as a geographic location of the RSDs 120 a and 120 b, that is,their own location (or the location of antennas connected thereto),expands to the location of RUs of the DAS (or the location of antennasconnected to the RUs), an indication of the geographic location of theRSDs 120 a and 120 b substantially coincides with an indication of thegeographic location of the DAS.

Accordingly, the MSE 160, based on the DAS information and the RSDinformation, may generate the interworking information including anindication of an interworking state of the DAS and the RSDs 120 a and120 b, an indication of radio access technologies available through theRSDs 120 a and 120 b and the DAS, operating parameters related to theradio access technologies, a geographic location, an available channel,information about an available frequency spectrum range, and the like.The interworking information may further include the DAS information andthe RSD information.

In addition, the MSE 160 may transmit the interworking information tothe SC 110 so that the SC 110 may recognize whether the RSDs 120 a and120 b interwork with the DAS.

In operation S405, the SC 110 allocates shared radio resources to theRSDs 120 a and 120 b and the DAS, respectively, based on the receivedinterworking information.

For example, after checking an interworking state of the RSDs 120 a and120 b and the HEU 130 and recognizing the spectrum usage amount ofpriority users in a specific geographical location and/or a specifictime set in which the RSDs 120 a and 120 b and the HEU 130 thatinterwork with each other are arranged, the SC 110 may allocateavailable shared radio resources to the RSDs 120 a and 120 b and theDAS, respectively, in consideration of respective geographicallocations, operating states, frequency information, etc. of the RSDs 120a and 120 b and the DAS.

According to an embodiment, the SC 110 may allocate radio resources suchthat shared radio resources allocated to the DAS include the sharedradio resources respectively allocated to the RSDs 120 a and 120 b. Thisis because the DAS combines/distributes the radio resources of the RSDs120 a and 120 b.

In operation S406, the SC 110 transmits allocation informationindicating a result of the allocating to the MSE 160.

In operations S407 and S408, the MSE 160 transmits the receivedallocation information to the RSDs 120 a and 120 b and the HEU 130,respectively, and in operation S409, the RSDs 120 a and 120 b and theHEU 130 operate according to the received allocation information.

On the other hand, although not shown in FIG. 4, the HEU 130 transmitsthe allocation information received from the MSE 160 to other elementsof the DAS such as the RU 140 and the EU 150 so that the DAS may operateusing the allocated radio resources.

According to certain aspects, the interworking information describedabove may be transmitted from the MSE 160 to the SC 110 as part of aregistration process of the RSDs 120 a and 120 b and the HEU 130 for theSC 110. In addition, the interworking information may be transmittedfrom the MSE 160 to the SC 110 through at least one of periodic statusupdates of the RSDs 120 a and 120 b and the HEU 130 for the SC 110, orresource requests from the RSDs 120 a and 120 b and the HEU 130. In somecases, the periodic status updates may include radio environmentmeasurements performed by at least one of the RSDs 120 a and 120 b andthe HEU 130. This is also substantially the same in a method ofallocating shared radio resources illustrated in FIGS. 6 to 8, and 9 to11 later below.

Next, referring to FIGS. 1 to 2F, 3, and 5, in operation S501, the HEU130 transmits the DAS information to the MSE 160.

As described above, when the MSE 160 is a network management systemprovided by the manufacturer of the DAS and the manufacturer monitorsand controls a DAS operation state in real time, operation S501 may beomitted.

In operation S402, the RSDs 120 a and 120 b transmit the RSD informationRSD #1 and RSD #2 to the MSE 160, respectively.

Likewise, when the MSE 160 is a network management system provided bythe manufacturer of the RSDs 120 a and 120 b and the manufacturermonitors and controls the status of the RSDs 120 a and 120 b in realtime, operation S502 may be omitted.

In operation S503, the MSE 160 generates virtualized RSD information(hereinafter referred to as VRSD information) based on the obtained DASinformation and RSD information, and transmits the generated VRSDinformation to the SC 110 in operation S504.

The VRSD information may be information for allowing the SC 110 torecognize the DAS and the RSDs 120 a and 120 b as one integrated RSD.

The VRSD information may include information about an indication ofradio access technology provided through the RSDs 120 a and 120 b andthe DAS, operating parameters related to the radio access technology, ageographic location, a device identifier, an available channel, anavailable frequency spectrum range, and the like.

According to an embodiment, the VRSD information may include first VRSDinformation for recognizing the DAS as a device integrated with the RSD120 a or an extension device of the RSD 120 a and second VRSDinformation for recognizing the DAS as a device integrated with the RSD120 b or an extension device of the RSD 120 b.

In operation S505, the SC 110 allocates radio resources sharedintegrally to the RSDs 120 a and 120 b and the DAS, respectively, basedon the received VRSD information.

For example, after recognizing the RSDs 120 a and 120 b and the HEU 130as one virtualized RSD and recognizing the spectrum usage amount ofpriority users in a specific geographical location and/or a specifictime set in which the RSDs 120 a and 120 b and the HEU 130 are arranged,the SC 110 may allocate available shared radio resources to the RSDs 120a and 120 b and the HEU 130, integrally.

According to an embodiment, the SC 110 may recognize the RSD 120 a andthe HEU 130 as one virtualized RSD, may recognize RSD 120 b and the HEU130 as another virtualized RSD, and may allocate shared radio resourcesto the RSD 120 a and the HEU 130, and to the RSD 120 b and the HEU 130,respectively.

In operation S506, the SC 110 transmits allocation informationindicating a result of allocating the radio resources to the virtualizedRSD to the MSE 160.

In operation S507, the MSE 160 determines respective operations of theRSDs 120 a and 120 b and the DAS based on the received allocationinformation. In operation S508, the MSE 160 transmits information aboutthe determined operations for the RSDs 120 a and 120 b (hereinafterreferred to as RSD operation information) to the RSDs 120 a and 120 b,respectively. In operation S509, the MSE 160 transmits information aboutthe determined operation for the DAS (hereinafter referred to as DASoperation information) to the HEU 130.

In operation S510, each of the RSDs 120 a and 120 b operates accordingto the corresponding RSD operation information, and the HEU 130 operatesaccording to the DAS operation information.

On the other hand, the HEU 130 transmits the DAS operation informationto other elements of the DAS such as the RU 140 and the EU 150 so thatthe DAS may operate using the allocated radio resources.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a spectrum sharing system according to anembodiment, and FIGS. 7 and 8 are flowcharts for illustrating a methodof operating the spectrum sharing system shown in FIG. 6.

In more detail, the spectrum sharing system shown in FIG. 6 illustratesan embodiment in which the HEU 130 of a DAS interworks with the RSDs 120a and 120 b, and the SC 110 and the RSDs 120 a and 120 b arecommunicatively connected to each other through the MSE 160 to transmitand receive information necessary for spectrum sharing access.

In the description of FIGS. 6 to 8, the same or corresponding referencenumerals as those in FIGS. 1 to 2F denote the same or correspondingelements, and therefore, repeated descriptions thereof will not be givenherein. In the spectrum sharing system according to the presentembodiment, allocation operations of shared radio resources for the RSDs120 a and 120 b and the HEU 130 will be mainly described.

First, referring to FIGS. 1 to 2F, 6, and 7, in operation S701, the HEU130 generates information of the DAS (hereinafter referred to as DASinformation) and transmits the DAS information to any one of the RSDs120 a and 120 b. In some embodiments, either RSD receiving the DASinformation may function as a domain proxy.

The DAS information, which is information related to a radio service ofthe RSDs 120 a and 120 b provided to end-user devices through the DAS,may include, for example, radio access technologies respectivelyprovided from the RSDs 120 a and 120 b to the node units (HEU, RU, andEU) of the DAS, operating parameters related to the radio accesstechnologies, a geographic location, a device identifier, and the like.

According to an embodiment, when neither of the RSDs 120 a and 120 boperates as a domain proxy, the HEU 130 may transmit the DAS informationto each of the RSDs 120 a and 120 b.

In operation S702, any one of the RSDs 120 a and 120 b generatesinterworking information of the RSDs 120 a and 120 b and the DAS basedon the DAS information received from the HEU 130.

The interworking information, which is information directly orindirectly indicating whether or not the RSDs 120 a and 120 b interworkwith the DAS, may include an indication of an interworking state, anindication of radio access technology provided by the RSDs 120 a and 120b through the DAS, operating parameters related to the radio accesstechnologies, a geographic location, a device identifier, an availablechannel, an available frequency spectrum range, and the like.

In addition, because the DAS information includes all information suchas the radio access technologies provided by the RSDs 120 a and 120 b,only one of the RSDs 120 a and 120 b may generate the interworkinginformation based on the DAS information.

According to an embodiment, when the RSDs 120 a and 120 b do notfunction as a domain proxy, each of the RSDs 120 a and 120 b may receivethe DAS information from the HEU 130 to generate interworkinginformation.

In operation S703, any one of the RSDs 120 a and 120 b transmits theinterworking information to the MSE 160, and transmits its owninformation (hereinafter referred to as RSD information) and other RSDinformation to the MSE 160. However, although not shown, the one RSD mayalso transmit the received DAS information to the MSE 160.

According to an embodiment, when the RSDs 120 a and 120 b do notfunction as domain proxies, each of the RSDs 120 a and 120 b maytransmit its own RSD information along with the generated interworkinginformation to the MSE 160.

In operation S704, the MSE 160 collects the received interworkinginformation and the RSD information and transmits it to the SC 110.

In operation S705, the SC 110 allocates shared radio resources to theRSDs 120 a and 120 b and the DAS, respectively, considering aninterworking state based on the received interworking information andthe RSD information.

In operation S706, the SC 110 transmits allocation informationindicating a result of the allocating to the MSE 160, in operation S707,the MSE 160 transmits the received allocation information to any one ofthe RSDs 120 a and 120 b, and in operation S708, the one RSD transmitsthe allocation information to the other RSD, and the RSDs 120 a and 120b operate according to the received allocation information,respectively.

According to an embodiment, when neither of the RSDs 120 a and 120 boperates as a domain proxy, the MSE 160 may transmit the allocationinformation to each of the RSDs 120 a and 120 b.

In operation S709, the one of the RSDs 120 a and 120 b transmits thereceived allocation information to the HEU 130, and in operation S710,the HEU 130 operates according to the received allocation information.

In addition, the HEU 130 transmits the allocation information receivedfrom the one RSD to other elements of the DAS, such as the RU 140 andthe EU 150, so that the DAS may operate using the allocated radioresources.

Next, referring to FIGS. 1 to 2F, 6, and 8, in operation S801, the HEU130 transmits DAS information to each of the RSDs 120 a and 120 b, andin operation S802, each of the RSDs 120 a and 120 b synthesizes its owninformation and the DAS information to generate individual virtualizedRSD information (hereinafter referred to as individual VRSDinformation).

The individual VRSD information may be information that recognizes a DASas a device integrated with any one of the RSDs 120 a and 120 b or anextension device for the any one, and may include an indication of radioaccess technology provided through any one of the RSDs 120 a and 120 band the DAS, operation parameters related to the radio accesstechnology, a geographic location, a device identifier, and the like.

Subsequently, in operation S803, the RSDs 120 a and 120 b transmit theindividual VRSD information to the MSE 160, respectively, and inoperation S804, the MSE 160 collects the individual VRSD information andtransmits the individual VRSD information to the SC 110.

Unlike the embodiments described with reference to FIG. 7 (embodimentsin which any one of the RSDs may or may not operate as a domain proxy),the individual VRSD information is transmitted to the SC 110 through theMSE 160 so that the SC 110 recognizes the DAS connected to each of theRSDs 120 a and 120 b as an integrated (or extended) device.

In operation S805, the SC 110, based on the received individual VRSDinformation, allocates radio resources shared integrally to the RSD 120a and the DAS (i.e., one virtualized RSD), and the RSD 120 b and the DAS(i.e. another virtualized RSD), respectively.

In operation S806, the SC 110 transmits individual allocationinformation indicating a result of the respectively allocating radioresources to the virtualized RSDs to the MSE 160, and in operation S807,the MSE 160 transmits the individual allocation information to the RSDs120 a and 120 b, respectively.

In operation S808, the RSD 120 a determines respective operations of theRSD 120 a and the DAS based on the received individual assignmentinformation, and the RSD 120 b determines respective operations of theRSD 120 b and the DAS based on the received individual allocationinformation.

In operation S809, each of the RSDs 120 a and 120 b operates accordingto a result of the determination.

In operation S810, each of the RSDs 120 a and 120 b transmitsinformation about the determined operation of the DAS (hereinafterreferred to as DAS operation information) to the HEU 130. In operationS811, the HEU 130 operates according to the pieces of DAS operationinformation.

On the other hand, the HEU 130 transmits the pieces of DAS operationinformation to other elements of the DAS such as the RU 140 and the EU150 so that the DAS may operate using the allocated radio resources.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a spectrum sharing system according to anembodiment, and FIGS. 10 and 11 are flowcharts for illustrating a methodof operating the spectrum sharing system shown in FIG. 9.

In more detail, the spectrum sharing system shown in FIG. 9 illustratesan embodiment in which the HEU 130 of a DAS interworks with the RSDs 120a and 120 b, and the SC 110 and the HEU 130 are communicativelyconnected to each other through the MSE 160 to transmit and receiveinformation necessary for spectrum sharing access.

In the description of FIGS. 9 to 11, the same or corresponding referencenumerals as those in FIGS. 1 to 2F denote the same or correspondingelements, and therefore, repeated descriptions thereof will not be givenherein. In the spectrum sharing system according to the presentembodiment, allocation operations of shared radio resources for the RSDs120 a and 120 b and the HEU 130 will be mainly described.

First, referring to FIGS. 1 to 2F, 9, and 10, in operation S1001, theRSDs 120 a and 120 b respectively generate their own information(hereinafter referred to as RSD #1 information and RSD #2 information)and transmit the RSD #1 information and RSD #2 information to the HEU130.

The RSD #1 information and the RSD #2 information may include anindication of radio access technologies respectively provided by theRSDs 120 a and 120 b, operating parameters related to the radio accesstechnologies, a geographic location, a device identifier, an availablechannel, an available frequency spectrum range, and the like.

In operation S1002, the HEU 130 generates interworking information ofthe plurality of RSDs 120 a and 120 b and the DAS based on the RSD #1information and RSD #2 information respectively received from theplurality of RSDs 120 a and 120 b.

Subsequently, in operation S1003, the HEU 130 transmits the interworkinginformation, the RSD #1 information and the RSD #2 informationrespectively received from the RSDs 120 a and 120 b, and its owninformation (hereinafter referred to as DAS information) to the MSE 160.As a domain proxy, the HEU 130 may transmit information about otherinterworking elements, for example, the RSDs 120 a and 120 b and theDAS, to the MSE 160 together with the interworking information.

In operation S1004, the MSE 160 collects the received interworkinginformation and the like and transmits it to the SC 110.

In operation S1005, the SC 110 allocates shared radio resources to theRSDs 120 a and 120 b and the DAS, respectively, considering aninterworking state based on the received interworking information andthe like.

In operation S1006, the SC 110 transmits allocation informationindicating a result of the allocating to the MSE 160, in operationS1007, the MSE 160 transmits the allocation information to the HEU 130,and in operation S1008, the HEU 130 transmits the received allocationinformation to the RSDs 120 a and 120 b.

In operation S1009, the HEU 130 and the RSDs 120 a and 120 b operateaccording to the allocation information.

Although not shown in FIG. 10, the HEU 130 transmits the allocationinformation received from the SC 110 to other elements of the DAS suchas the RU 140 and the EU 150 so that the DAS may operate using theallocated radio resources.

Next, referring to FIGS. 1 to 2F, 9, and 11, in operation S1101, theRSDs 120 a and 120 b respectively transmit their own information(hereinafter referred to as RSD #1 information and RSD #2 information)to the HEU 130, and in operation S1102, the HEU 130 generatesvirtualized RSD information (hereinafter referred to as VRSDinformation) by synthesizing its own information and the RSD #1information and RSD #2 information.

The VRSD information may be information that recognizes a DAS as adevice integrated with the RSDs 120 a and 120 b or an extension devicefor the RSDs 120 a and 120 b, and may include radio access technologyprovided through the RSDs 120 a and 120 b and the DAS, operationparameters related to the radio access technology, a geographiclocation, a device identifier, an available channel, an availablefrequency spectrum range, and the like.

According to an embodiment, the VRSD information may include first VRSDinformation for recognizing the DAS as a device integrated with the RSD120 a or an extension device of the RSD 120 a and second VRSDinformation for recognizing the DAS as a device integrated with the RSD120 b or an extension device of the RSD 120 b.

In operation S1103, the HEU 130 transmits the VRSD information to theMSE 160, and in operation S1104, the MSE 160 transmits the VRSDinformation to the SC 110.

In operation S1105, the SC 110 allocates radio resources sharedintegrally to the RSDs 120 a and 120 b and the DAS, respectively, basedon the received VRSD information.

In operation S1106, the SC 110 transmits allocation informationindicating a result of allocating the shared radio resources to the MSE160, and in operation S1107, the MSE 160 transmits the allocationinformation to the HEU 130.

In operation S1108, the HEU 130 determines respective operations of theRSDs 120 a and 120 b and the DAS based on the received allocationinformation.

In operation S1109, the HEU 130 operates according to a result of thedetermination of the DAS.

The HEU head-end unit 130 transmits information about the result of thedetermination to other elements of the DAS such as the RU 140 and EU 150so that the DAS may operate using the allocated radio resources.

In operation S1110, the HEU 130 transmits information about thedetermined operations of the RSDs 120 a and 120 b (RSD #1 operationinformation and RSD #2 operation information) to the RSDs 120 a and 120b. Accordingly, in operation S1111, the RSDs 120 b and 120 b operateaccording to the received operation information, respectively.

FIGS. 3 to 11 describe the embodiment in which the HEU 130 interworkswith the plurality of RSDs 120 a and 120 b above. However, even in anembodiment in which the RU 140 interworks with at least one RSD, theallocation operation of the shared radio resources as shown in FIGS. 3to 11 will be possible.

Further, FIGS. 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, and 11 and the methods described withreference thereto include one or more operations and/or actions forachieving the methods. The operations and/or actions may be interchangedwith one another without departing from the scope of the claims. Inother words, the order and/or use of specific operations and/or actionsmay be modified without departing from the scope of the claims, unless acertain order for the operations and/or actions is specified.

In addition, various operations of the methods described above may beperformed by any suitable means capable of performing correspondingfunctions. The means includes, but is not limited to, various hardwareand/or software components and/or modules such as an applicationspecific integrated circuit (ASIC) or a processor. In general, whenthere are operations corresponding to the drawings, these operations mayhave a corresponding counterpart and functional components having thesame number as the number of the counterpart.

The various illustrative logic blocks, modules, circuits, and processorsdescribed in connection with the disclosure may be implemented orperformed by a general-purpose processor designed to perform thefunctions disclosed herein, a digital signal processor (DSP), an ASIC, afield-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device(PLD), a discrete gate or transistor logic device, discrete hardwarecomponents, or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processormay be a microprocessor, but may alternatively be any commerciallyavailable processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. Theprocessor may also be implemented in a combination of computing devices,for example, a combination of the DSP and the microprocessor, aplurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in connectionwith a DSP core, or any other configuration.

According to embodiments of the disclosure, when a spectrum sharingsystem interworks with a distributed antenna system, a system controllerof the spectrum sharing system communicates with radio service devicesof the spectrum sharing system and node units of the distributed antennasystem through a management system entity.

Accordingly, as the spectrum sharing system is able to minimize amanagement and control burden of the system controller and efficientlyallocate and operate shared radio resources by considering whether tointerwork with the distributed antenna system, and the distributedantenna system interworks with the spectrum sharing system, it ispossible to effectively prevent unexpected interference from occurringin a specific area and/or at a specific time.

Effects obtainable by the disclosure are not limited to the effectsdescribed above, but other effects not described herein may be clearlyunderstood by one of ordinary skill in the art from the abovedescriptions.

Numerous modifications and adaptations will be readily apparent to oneof ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and scopeof the disclosure.

In this regard, the present embodiments may have different forms andshould not be construed as being limited to the descriptions set forthherein.

While the disclosure has been particularly shown and described withreference to embodiments thereof, it will be understood that variouschanges in form and details may be made therein without departing fromthe spirit and scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of operating a distributed antennasystem (DAS) interworking with a spectrum sharing system (SSS), themethod comprising: transmitting, by a node unit of the DAS, DASinformation to a management system entity (MSE); generating, by the MSE,interworking information based on the DAS information and radio servicedevice (RSD) information received from at least one RSD of the SSS;transmitting, by the MSE, the interworking information to a systemcontroller of the SSS; receiving, by the MSE, allocation informationincluding a result of allocating shared radio resources to the DAS andthe at least one RSD, respectively, according to the interworkinginformation from the system controller; transmitting, by the MSE, theallocation information to the node unit; and operating, by the nodeunit, according to the allocation information.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein the interworking information comprises information about atleast two of an indication of an interworking state of the at least oneRSD and the DAS, an indication of radio access technology (RAT) providedby the at least one RSD through the DAS, operation parameters related tothe RAT, a geographic location, an available channel, and an availablefrequency spectrum range.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:transmitting, by the MSE, the allocation information to the at least oneRSD after the receiving of the allocation information.
 4. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the transmitting of the interworking informationcomprises: transmitting, by the MSE, the interworking information to thesystem controller as part of a registration process for the systemcontroller of the DAS and the at least one RSD.
 5. The method of claim1, wherein the transmitting of the interworking information comprises:transmitting, by the MSE, the interworking information to the systemcontroller through at least one of a resource request to the systemcontroller or periodic status update of the DAS and the at least oneRSD.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the MSE is configured to operateand manage the DAS by controlling the operation of the node unit.
 7. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the MSE is configured to control an operationof the at least one RSD to operate and manage the SSS.
 8. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the node unit is a head-end unit of the DAScommunicatively connected to the at least one RSD.
 9. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the node unit is a remote unit of the DAScommunicatively connected to the at least one RSD.
 10. A methodoperating a distributed antenna system (DAS) interworking with aspectrum sharing system (SSS), the method comprising: transmitting, by anode unit of the DAS, DAS information to a management system entity(MSE); generating, by the MSE, virtualized RSD information based on theDAS information and radio service device (RSD) information received fromat least one RSD of the SSS; transmitting, by the MSE, the virtualizedRSD information to a system controller of the SSS; receiving, by theMSE, allocation information including a result of allocating radioresources integrally shared to the DAS and the at least one RSDaccording to the virtualized RSD information from the system controller;determining, by the MSE, an operation of the DAS based on the allocationinformation; and operating, by the node unit, according to thedetermined operation.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein thevirtualized RSD information is information that causes the systemcontroller of the SSS to recognize the at least one RSD and the DAS asone device or the DAS as an extension device of the at least one RSD.12. The method of claim 10, wherein the virtualized RSD informationcomprises information about at least two of an indication of a radioaccess technology (RAT) integrally supported by the at least one RSD andthe DAS, operation parameters related to the RAT, a geographic location,an available channel, and an available frequency spectrum range.
 13. Themethod of claim 10, wherein the determining of the operation of the DAScomprises: determining, by the MSE, an operation of the at least one RSDbased on the allocation information.
 14. The method of claim 10, whereinthe transmitting of the virtualized RSD information comprises:transmitting, by the MSE, the virtualized RSD information to the systemcontroller as part of a registration process for the system controllerof the DAS and the at least one RSD.
 15. The method of claim 10, whereinthe transmitting of the virtualized RSD information comprises:transmitting, by the MSE, the virtualized RSD information to the systemcontroller through at least one of a resource request to the systemcontroller or periodic status update of the DAS and the at least oneRSD.
 16. A method operating a distributed antenna system (DAS)interworking with a spectrum sharing system (SSS), the methodcomprising: transmitting, by a node unit of the DAS, DAS information tothe at least one RSD so that at least one radio service device (RSD) ofthe SSS generates interworking information or virtualized RSDinformation; receiving, by a management system entity (MSE), theinterworking information or the virtualized RSD information from the atleast one RSD; transmitting, by the MSE, the interworking information orthe virtualized RSD information to a system controller of the SSS;receiving, by the MSE, allocation information including a result ofallocating shared radio resources according to the interworkinginformation or the virtualized RSD information from the systemcontroller; transmitting, by the MSE, the allocation information to theat least one RSD; and operating, by the node unit, under the control ofthe at least one RSD.
 17. A method operating a distributed antennasystem (DAS) interworking with a spectrum sharing system (SSS), themethod comprising: receiving, by a node unit of the DAS, radio servicedevice (RSD) information from at least one RSD of the SSS; generating,by the node unit, interworking information or virtualized RSDinformation based on DAS information and the RSD information;transmitting, by the node unit, the interworking information or thevirtualized RSD information to a management system entity (MSE);transmitting, by the MSE, the interworking information or thevirtualized RSD information to a system controller of the SSS;receiving, by the MSE, allocation information including a result ofallocating shared radio resources according to the interworkinginformation or the virtualized RSD information from the systemcontroller; transmitting, by the MSE, the allocation information to thenode unit; and operating, by the node unit, according to the allocationinformation.